


I Thought We Were Enemies

by Triculeveckian



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: M/M, Unsympathetic Remus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-18 07:15:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21840367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Triculeveckian/pseuds/Triculeveckian
Summary: Superpower enemies-to-lovers au with Analogical.
Relationships: Analogical - Relationship
Comments: 12
Kudos: 73
Collections: Sanders Sides Secret Santa 2019





	I Thought We Were Enemies

Virgil sat at the bakery counter, scrolling through his phone and sipping at a glass of lemonade while an old radio crackled softly in the background. Some local news station--Patton liked to be able to hear what was going on around town while he worked, and Virgil could hear him humming in the back room while he set out making another batch of jam cookies for the evening customers. 

“Good afternoon, my dark and stormy knight!” Virgil smiled ever-so faintly at the nickname and dramatic voice, turning around on his stool as the bell on the door rang and someone stepped inside. Roman winked at him as he crossed the cafe to where he was sitting, settling down next to him on another stool. He was wearing a red long-sleeved shirt with stripes on the sleeves; a gift from his husband from last Valentine’s Day.

“Hey dad,” Virgil said, setting his phone down with a half-grin. Roman smiled at him in return, reaching for his glass of lemonade with one hand. 

“What’s this?” he asked, examining it. “Raspberry?”

“Strawberry. Try it, Dad made it for me.” Roman raised his eyebrows, then sipped at the drink. He made a face and set it down again. 

“You like your stuff sour, huh?”

“Yeah. Like the tart.”

“Do I hear my husband out there?” Both Virgil and Roman looked up as another voice called to them from the back room, and Roman grinned.

“Yes dear,” He answered. “Just got off work.” Virgil could hear shuffling in the back as Patton finished up whatever he was doing, and a few seconds later he came to the counter, his pale blue apron dusted white with flour along with his hair. A bright smile took over his expression when he saw Roman and Roman smiled back at him, standing up and coming around to hug his husband. 

“Dear, I’m covered in flour,” Patton giggled as Roman wrapped his arms around him, laying a soft kiss on his cheek.. 

“Hmmm. Guess we’ll match then.” Virgil rolled his eyes, hiding a smile behind his phone as his dads smiled at each other in that dorky way they always did after a long day apart. 

“Virgil, want to join us?” Roman called. He looked up again to see both of his dads turned towards him, arms outstretched in invitation. Virgil found himself fighting back another smile--how could he say no to that? He got up and went over to his dads, where they pulled him into the hug and held him gently there--they’d learned rather quickly that he didn’t like the enthusiastic bear hugs that his fathers often gave each other, and had learned to be gentler when he was around. Virgil loved that about his dads--they never forced him into situations that made him uncomfortable, and were always careful to ask him about what he liked and what he was okay with. 

“Remy should be here in a few minutes with your brother,” Patton whispered to Virgil. “He just texted me.”

“And we can hang out?”

“Course. Just be back for dinner, okay? I’m making your favorite.” He winked, and Virgil nodded with a bit of a smile as they all pulled back from the joint hug. 

“Sure thing dad. Sounds good,” he said. 

The radio crackled loudly, and an older woman’s voice squeaked through as the three turned towards the noise. 

“I must advise everyone to stay off of Fifth Avenue right now; there are currently reports coming in of suspicious activity on that street and the adjacent Sixth Avenue. Please stay safe, everyone, and stay away from that area if you can.” Virgil’s eyes narrowed as the report went off, and when he looked back he saw Roman and Patton exchanging looks. 

“That bastard,” he muttered to himself. “Never gives up, does he?”

“Son, do you...do you have to go after him every time?” Patton asked softly, but before he could continue Roman held up a hand. 

“Remember, padre,” he said gently. Patton let out a quiet sign, but nodded. 

“Yeah...let him make his own choices. I know I just...worry, about him. A lot.” He wrung his hands, accidentally getting flour on himself as he did. Virgil glanced down at the flour dusting his own shirt, letting out a small sigh of his own. 

“Dad, I’ll be careful, okay? I promise. But I can’t just let Logan get away with what he’s been doing. Not with what I can do to stop it.” Patton nodded hurriedly. 

“I just...I-I understand, Virgil. But please be careful.” He held his arms out questioningly. “One more hug...before you go?” Virgil hesitated for only a second, before he stepped forward and hugged Patton again. His father pulled him close and Virgil could tell how anxious he was by the way his breathing rattled in his ear, and for a moment he felt guilty about what he was about to go do.

 _I have to do this._ He reminded himself sharply. _I have to make sure they’re safe. I can’t let this guy hurt them._

“I love you,” Patton whispered in his ear. 

“I love you too, Dad.” 

Virgil jumped, startled as the door suddenly swung open, turning around as Remy stepped inside the cafe. A frappuccino was gripped in one hand, while 6-year old Emile clung to the other one with a bright smile plastered on his face. He waved at his brother as he came inside. And Virgil couldn’t help but think of how much Emile was just like Patton. 

“Daddy!” he shouted, letting go of Remy and running into Roman’s arms. Patton smiled at his son and disappeared into the back, reentering a few minutes later holding a glass of chocolate milk, which he handed to Emile. 

“Why don’t you go sit at the counter with Dad and drink that, yeah?” Emile took the glass with a smile. 

“Thanks Dada!” he called as Patton went to the back again to finish with the cookies. “Hey Virgil!” Virgil glanced at Remy, then went to his little brother’s side. 

“How are ya doing, bud?” he asked, crouching next to Emile and offering him a little smile. His brother held up his glass.   
“I got chocolate milk, see? Dada makes the best chocolate milk!”

“He sure does.” Virgil let his brother hug him, then stood back up. “I’ll be back later, okay bud? We can talk some more then, but I have to go for now.”

“Are you gonna go be a hero again?” Emile asked him, round-eyed. Virgil froze, his mind going blank at the word “hero,” but luckily for him Remy had his back. 

“That’s right buddy, and we’ll be back in time for dinner,” Remy stated with a nod. “Your brother’s just out there keeping you safe is all, okay? And when we get back we can have some fun then, all of us.”

Emile considered this for a moment, then nodded. “Okay!” he said, and waved to Virgil. “Bye!”

“See you later, bud.” Virgil turned and Remy followed him, leading the pair out to his car where it was parked not far from the Sanders Bakery and Cafe.

“So, where’s the trouble at?”

“Fifth and Sixth again,” Virgil answered, slinging his backpack into the backseat and climbing in while Remy started the car up. 

“Wonder what Logan’s up to this time.” 

“Who the hell knows,” was all Virgil could say, quickly sliding into a black hoodie and pulling the hood up, before he carefully put on his mask. Roman had bought it for him when he and Patton had learned about what had been happening. It was black and had a skull design on the front in white--just his type, Roman had said. Virgil stashed his patch jacked under the seat of the car, and was ready to go by the time they turned onto Fifth and Sixth. Remy parked the car behind an empty bank and the two quietly got out, Remy now also dressed in black similar to Virgil, but with a mask that said “Bitch” on it in fancy white script instead. 

“You ready?” he whispered. Virgil nodded. 

“Let’s go then.”

The two started cautiously down the street, keeping close to buildings and using the shadows of the now-darkening evening to their advantage. When they got to the intersection between the two streets Virgil stopped and crouched behind a bench positioned near the edge of the sidewalk, while Remy continued silently on ahead. Virgil stayed quietly in his position, scanning the empty streets until he felt his phone vibrate. He quickly pulled it from his pocket--the message was from Remy. 

_He’s at the power substation. Looks like he’s trying to shut off the electricity again, that or he’s trying to boost his ability for something._

Virgil hurriedly slipped his phone back into his pocket, then stood up. The black cloak wrapped around his shoulders suddenly rippled and shrank, becoming hundreds of glistening black feathers as a raven spread its wings and disappeared up into the night sky. Virgil blinked his new eyes several times as he adjusted to his new form, shifting his wing feathers to fly towards the area Remy had pointed out to him.

Roman and Patton had learned of Virgil’s abilities when he was fairly young; after an accident. He hadn’t _meant_ for them to find out, but he wasn’t exactly the sneakiest kid at the time, and so they had anyways. At first he’d been terrified of what they’d do to him; what might say, how they would react to seeing what he was capable of. A part of him had been afraid that they’d disown or abandon him, dump him back in the foster system or--worse yet--call the cops and leave them to deal with him. That wasn’t an uncommon fate for Different kids like him. 

Except, somehow, he’d been one of the lucky ones. 

When Virgil’s dads found out about his abilities, they had done none of those things to him. They’d been awfully confused and even a little scared, sure, but ultimately they’d decided to help him learn how to control his abilities and use them to his advantage. Of course now Virgil understood why--they cared about him and even...loved him, when he dared admit it--but at the time he hadn’t understood why Roman spent hours surfing the internet for other shapeshifters in history and what had helped them, and why Patton went out and got everything he could find that helped Virgil feel better when he got sore or dizzy after his shifts. 

And when the “mad scientist” Logan had started causing trouble in town, wreaking havoc with his strange abilities and devices, Virgil’s dads had been right behind his decision to do what he could to stop Logan.

What they didn’t know, however, was that the matter of holding Logan back was less about morals and a whole lot more about the fact he was afraid that, if not stopped, Logan might hurt his family. 

And _that_ was something Virgil would never let happen. Not in a million years. 

Something moved below him, interrupting his thoughts. Virgil immediately slowed to a hesitant glide over the fenced-in power substation, sharp eyes scanning the area below. Soon enough, he noticed what had first caught his attention: the flash of a white lab coat, rippling in sharp contrast against the dark gravel below.

_Logan._

Flipping around, Virgil spun into a dive, his form morphing to a human figure at the last second as he crashed into Logan’s shoulders and kicked his boots at him as hard as he could. The scientist pitched forward with a shout of surprise and they both tumbled to the ground, Virgil flinching as gravel dug sharply into his palms and he barely avoided grinding his face into the asphalt. At first he couldn’t move, but then he felt a sharp shock in his shoulder and yelped in pain. He forced himself to scramble away and get to his feet, clutching his arm with a hiss while Logan also stood--a bit painfully, Virgil noticed, with eyes narrowed behind thick-rimmed glasses. _Hopefully that at least slowed him down, or we’re in real trouble..._

“You again,” Logan growled, electricity sparking and snapping between his fingers as he spoke. He sounded angry, but calm. “You’re only going to get hurt if you keep attempting these foolish acts of bravery. I would suggest you leave before you seriously injure yourself.”

He started to step forward, but before he could get very far Virgil swiftly ducked down, grabbing a handful of gravel and flinging it at Logan as hard as he could before jumping away from the arcs of electricity that shot towards him in response. “How about I don’t?” He sniped as Logan stumbled back with another shout, throwing his hands up to protect himself as he reached for another handful. 

“Really?!” Logan snapped as he finally pulled his hands away from his face, his glasses now clutched in his hands. “You cracked the lens...do you have the slightest idea how expensive these were?” He held up his now-broken glasses for Virgil to see, then tossed them aside with a scowl. “You realize...idiot...I’m doing this for everyone’s good. I’m trying to help you! I’m trying to stop all of the ignorance and stupidity that I see every time I turn around, but they won’t listen! And now it’s time that I teach these fools a less--” 

A loud _whump_ and a shout cut him off as something heavy slammed into Logan’s side, knocking him to the ground. Immediately he twisted around, electricity writhing from his fingers and into his attacker, who dropped his weapon with a sharp cry of pain that Virgil immediately recognized to be Remy’s as he collapsed into the gravel. The scientist then attempted to get up again, but not before Virgil launched himself into him. 

“You get away from my friend!” he screamed, lashing out with his fists and only getting another burning shock in response. “YOU LEAVE HIM ALONE, YOU HEAR ME?!”

“Then why don’t,” Logan grunted, shocking Virgil again as he struggled to stand, “...you leave me alone?”

Virgil’s entire body tingled and trembled from the effects of the electricity as he rolled away, but he defiantly got to his feet again despite the pain, placing himself between Logan and the fence to the substation, his fists curled angrily at his sides. 

“Go. Away.” He snarled. Logan opened his mouth to answer, sparks crackling between his fingers, but the sound of sirens wailing in the distance stopped him in his tracks.

“We got you cornered,” Remy suddenly said from behind him. Virgil wasn’t sure how he’d managed to get back up after the hit he took, but he couldn’t deny the flood of relief that crashed through him as his friend held up his phone. “The police will be here any minute.”

Logan narrowed his eyes, looking between his two attackers as electricity continued to curl around his angry fists.

“Very well, then.” He said at last. Without any further warning, he threw both his hands out, palms open and facing Virgil and Remy. There was a _bang_ and a _crash_ , and the next thing Virgil knew he was lying on the ground with a bloody head and a body that screamed with pain.

The police had arrived. 

Logan was nowhere to be seen.

___

“Oh my gosh, Virgil, what happened to you!?” Patton rushed to his son’s side as Virgil and Remy stumbled back into the bakery, having been escorted there by the police after they got a statement from each of them about the incident. Remy had complained about his car and said he’d wanted to drive, but the police had promised to bring his car over for him later as he was clearly in no condition to do so right then.

“I’m okay,” Virgil mumbled, letting his father catch him in his strong arms as he came over to him. Patton smelled sweet like he always did, sweet like fresh-baked cookies. He made a noise like disagreement, then pulled back and looked Virgil over with a frown. Once he was sure that his son was okay, he did the same with Remy despite the other teen’s protests. 

“Dear Lord…” he whispered to himself when he saw Remy’s bloodied head. “What happened, you two?”

“We got beat good,” Remy stated casually, sliding onto a stool and motioning for Virgil to join him. “We stalled him long enough though, that’s the important thing.”

“This time...Roman! Honey, they’re back!” Patton called, turning to the back room. Roman quickly appeared in the entrance, wiping his floury hands off on a towel. His eyes widened when he saw the boys.

“Did you stop him?” he asked, his gaze flicking between Remy and Virgil. 

“We did,” Remy affirmed. 

“For now,” Virgil added with a sigh. “I mean yeah we have the element of surprise...but Logan’s ability is just too good! He’s hardly older than us, and yet he beats us so easily!”

“We weren’t _that_ bad,” Remy chided, punching Virgil in the arm. “You bruised him pretty good, and I think you wrecked one of his shoulders too. Definitely got him in the face--you even cracked his glasses! That’s not a total loss! I even hit him!”

“Hmph. Whatever.” Virgil sighed and glanced out the window, trying to ignore the headache pounding behind his eyes. “We still got knocked flat and haven’t been able to track him down at all because he _Does that. Every. Time._ ”

“He’s smart,” Roman commented, sitting down next to them while Patton tried to distract Emile so they could talk. “You have to learn to outsmart him.”

“But how?” Virgil complained as Roman got up and went to the back again, his red apron flowing around him like a cape. _No wonder his nickname was Princey._ He returned a few minutes later with two ice packs, handing one to each of the boys. Remy pressed his to his forehead gratefully, while Virgil plastered his against the back of his head with a groan.

“Well...why don’t you try writing down what’s happened every time you confronted Logan? The police are only equipped to handle the affairs of Normal people...when it comes to Differents like you, it’s a whole different game. I’m not a strategist,” Roman said slowly, shaking his head. “But...I know you and Remy are very intelligent. You can figure it out. I know you can.” 

“Ugh,” Virgil complained again. 

“Cookie?” Patton asked. 

___

The group ate dinner together in the bakery, hiding behind a _Closed_ sign and drawn-up curtains that alternated between Patton’s favorite shade of blue and Roman’s favorite shade of red. Soft and bold, just like his dads were, Virgil thought to himself. The colors were comforting to him as he and the others dug into the spaghetti Patton brought out to the 6 or so tiny tables they’d dragged together. After they finished with the main course, Patton had also promised each of them a pastry of their choice. 

Virgil loved the nights where they ate together in the bakery. Sure, it was nice eating at home too, but there was something about being in a place like the bakery long after it was closed, sitting behind drawn curtains and half-dimmed lights that he really...loved. Somehow the food seemed to taste better, the lemonade more tart and the pastries more sweet. It was special, he supposed. 

Patton and Roman were proud of their adopted sons and loved to show them off, having gone so far as to have an entire wall was dedicated to pictures of them (after they’d gotten Virgil and Emile’s permission to do it, of course) in the back of the bakery near the counter. And while Virgil couldn’t say he’d ever enjoy getting his picture taken, he loved looking over at the wall and over all the memories Patton and Roman had put there, that they’d let him put up there. Up at the top of the wall clustered a collection of pictures from the little party Virgil’s dads had thrown for him after they’d adopted him, with streamers and balloons and a cake decorated in purple--his favorite color at the time. It was still his favorite color, actually. And then a few years later, a little further down the wall, you could find Emile’s adoption party--this one complete with a cake frosted in pink.

Emile was a six-year old bubbly first-grader that had joined the Sanders family as a chaotic and frantically energetic 3-year old several years back. Roman and Patton had worried about him constantly at first, worried about being good enough to give him what he needed in life. But over the years, and with plenty of love and affection from his dads, Emile had grown up quite a bit since his rough first year. Now he was one of the sweetest children Virgil had ever met, and one of the best listeners.

In fact, Virgl and Emile had suffered through none of the usual sibling rivalry they had been told they would--sure, part of it was probably because Virgil was more than 10 years older than Emile was, but he also just...loved his little brother. They had no reason to fight, so why would they? Emile always made sure to tell Virgil that he loved him often, and that he was cool, and awesome, and even made little gifts for him sometimes when he knew his big brother was sad. Virgil loved those little gifts, and had a special place for them on his nightstand that nobody was allowed to touch.

Families were really nice, when you found the right one. That was a big lesson Virgil had come to realize after Roman and Patton had adopted him--that families were chosen, and not forced on you. 

He liked that a lot.

Remy left soon after the meal was finished, and night soon blurred into day which blurred into a week of time before anything disrupted Virgil’s schedule again. He started feeling suspicious after only a few days of nothing happening, as Logan was always showing up places, laying out schemes, evading the police, and just causing trouble around town in general. The news reports were always going off about “suspicious activity” on one street or another, but day after day after day nothing came in, the radios were silent. And Logan had always been a more stubborn sort, always lurking around, he never just...disappeared like this. It was odd, to say the least, and strangely unsettling.

Virgil didn’t know what to do with his newfound free time.

“Maybe you really hurt him that time,” Remy said with a shrug when Virgil questioned him about it one day. “Maybe he gave up.” And while he wished that he could believe it was true, Virgil could only shake his head in response. 

“Then how’d he get away from us that other night? He was gone when the police got there.”

“Maybe he didn’t. But he’s too smart to get caught, for sure.”

Virgil thought about that for a long time. He knew Logan wouldn’t just give up as easily as Remy seemed to think he might--one thing he had learned about his nemesis was that he was awfully stubborn (just like him, Roman had once said), and that he didn’t just stop or turn back when faced with problems. He found a way to get around them, one way or another. 

So if Logan hadn’t given up...where was he?

What was he up to?

Virgil was mulling over the problem again in his head as he went to the grocery store in town Friday afternoon, looking for the chocolate chips Patton had requested so that he could make another batch of cookies for the afternoon customers (and perhaps, also because Emile had requested them. He really liked chocolate chip cookies). He wandered into the store at a slow, almost robotic pace, made his way the baking aisle, and then back to the counter to pay. 

_How could I track Logan down without raising suspicion myself?_

Virgil thought about the map spread out across his desk at home, where he’d marked every location Logan had been reported in with a red marker. It had shown him nothing. The locations, instead of being centralized around a specific point, were spread evenly all across the city in no particular pattern, no particular _anything_ that made any sense at all.

 _Logan’s too smart to get caught that way. Damn, he really_ did _think of everything._

Virgil sighed and rubbed his temples, his thoughts spinning through useless idea after useless idea while he attempted to look at the situation from different angles like Roman had suggested. Unfortunately, he wasn’t getting anything there either. All he managed to do was frustrate himself even further, before a shout ricocheted down the sidewalk and jolted him back to reality. 

“Stop him! Stop that boy!”

 _Huh?_ Virgil started to turn around, but before he could locate the source of the noise a blur of green and black crashed into him, throwing him to the ground and knocking the air from his lungs. Wincing with pain and gasping for air, he looked up and saw a pale moustached face, the owner of which grinned at him.

“Nice day huh?” he asked, before he scrambled to his feet and took off again. 

“Stop him!” the shout came again. Dazed, Virgil stumbled to his feet, and as he did he saw a garbage bag clutched in the moustached boy’s hands. _Did that kid just rob a bank in broad daylight?_

“Wait...what the…” before he knew what he was doing he started running after the other boy, his feet pounding sharply on the sidewalk while a headache began to throb behind his eyes. Virgil wouldn’t be able to run for long, he realized, not after that impact. He looked down at the heavy grocery bag of chocolate chips in his hand, and a small idea popped into his mind.

“Sorry dad,” he muttered to himself. Then he lifted the bag, slung it around his head, and hurled it at the other kid as hard as he could. It seemed that luck was on his side today, as the bag sailed through the air and struck the other kid squarely in the back of the head. He stumbled and nearly lost his footing, Virgil catching up and crashing into him before he could catch himself. They went down and he tore the garbage bag away in one quick motion, pinning him down with his hands as they landed and narrowing his eyes in anger.

“Really!?” he shouted at the boy. “What the hell were you thinking, it’s broad daylight! What is wrong with you!?” The other kid tilted his head to the side, then smiled at him.

“Ooh look, another one like us. Too bad you’re a hero, eh?” He smirked, flicking his index finger upwards and making no other move to free himself. Virgil was about to shout another question at the kid when heard the sound of crunching metal behind him, and he twisted to the side and threw himself to the ground with a panicked shout as a newspaper box tore free from its hinges and catapulted itself towards him. It barely missed smashing into his head, continuing on its course and crashing through the front window of a florist shop behind him. The other boy, meanwhile rolled over and snatched his bag up from the sidewalk, taking off down the street again. 

“Been nice dancing with you!” he called over his shoulder. “My name’s Remus, by the way!”

Virgil slowly pulled himself to his feet, his head spinning, watching as the boy continued running down the sidewalk and left a wake of confused and terrified pedestrians behind him. _Telekinesis...I’ve never seen that ability before…_ He let out a long, frustrated sigh. _Of course no one else is gonna stop him. Of course they’re gonna leave it up to me._

Before he could stop himself Virgil was running again, leaving the chocolate chips behind as he put all his focus into shifting his form, letting black and white feathers crawl over black and purple patches until an eagle rocketed into the sky with a triumphant screech. He flew quickly ahead and spun around to dive at Remus, but his opponent saw him first and flicked his hand, sending a bicycle flying up towards him. Virgil managed to divert his course at the last second and barely missed being decapitated, refusing to pull out of his dive and let the other boy get a clear shot of him by slowing down. Remus was running into a residential area now, and still showed no sign of stopping.

_How is he so fast?_

A heartbeat later Virgil collided with him, digging his talons into the Remus’ scalp and attacking whatever he could reach with all his might. A part of him was pretty sure that shifting to a bigger form would’ve been a good idea right about then, but at the same time he couldn’t see how making himself into a bigger target would help things.

He’d fucked up. Bad. He’d just trapped himself, and it was only a matter of time before--

Virgil felt something grab onto his talons, and before he could shift to get away Remus hurled him into the ground, a scream of rage rising behind his bloodied face. 

“Damn you!” he shrieked, and as Virgil struggled to get up something else slammed into him, knocking him down again. 

_Shit,_ was all he could think. Then his vision went dark.

And when he came to sometime later, Remus was gone. 

___

The first thing Virgil realized about himself was that he was a bloody mess. Everything hurt, from his claws to his wingtips, and he could hardly move. Virgil hissed in pain as he tried to get up, still trapped in his stupid eagle form with half his feathers ripped out and _dear god that was a lot of blood_. One thing immediately became clear: there was no way he was going to make it home like this.

 _Shit,_ he thought to himself, looking over his wings which were shiny red and sticky and soaked in his own blood. He could tell right away that he had just enough energy to shift one more time, and that that one time would wipe him out for an indefinite amount of time before he’d be able to do it again. Either way, he was not getting home. 

Virgil slowly twisted his head around, trying to take in where he was. It was dark now, and cloudy, which meant he’d been out for a while. But as he peered into the darkness, Virgil managed to make out the shape of what looked to be a house not far from where he’d landed (he suspected Remus had thrown a large rock at him, and was pretty sure he’d acquired internal injuries from the hit). It was his only chance. 

He needed to shift to something small, he realized. Something that wouldn’t wipe away too much enevery before he died out here like the idiot he was. 

“What the fuck was I thinking,” he muttered to himself as he rolled over onto his stomach, his voice sounding more like an eagle’s squawk than an actual human voice as he shifted his wings beneath him. “Trying to be some goddamn hero when I can’t even be a proper shifter. Idiot.” He sighed, and then a hiss of pain shot through his clamped beak as his form slowly morphed into a more feline shape, ebony fur overtaking black feathers while fangs replaced a sharp beak and claws his talons. The shift took longer than usual as his energy was nearly gone, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he found he’d managed to do it without passing out or worse--killing himself on the spot. Apparently that could happen, according to the Wikipedia page he’d found on shifters some time back.

Slowly, painstakingly, he began dragging his new form towards the house, wincing at every painful step as it jolted through his body. When did ten feet become such a vast distance?

_8 feet…_

_7 feet…_

_6 feet…_

He was halfway there. Two steps (thank god no more than that), short and concrete. He was on the porch now. Almost there...he’d made it. Virgil’s legs buckled beneath him as he reached the mat laid before the door, and he managed to convince a pitiful meow from his throat before his head dropped, the last of his remaining energy gone. 

He was going to die here like an idiot, Virgil realized. Whoever lived here was going to find his dead body in the morning, and his parents were never going to know what happened to--

The door swung open, flooding the mat he’d fallen on with a soft artificial glow. 

“Oh my god...what happened to you?” A voice asked, softly. But even though the tone was gentle and concerned, Virgil felt his blood run cold. 

_Logan!?_

___

“Hey there, buddy. Are you gonna finally wake up today?” Virgil groaned and opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Logan’s sharp blue eyes staring back at him, and _why_ was his face so close, and _why_ did he actually sound nice, and _why_ did everything hurt? 

“Oh my gosh, you’re awake!” The face quickly backed away and Logan pushed his long bangs away from his eyes, adjusting his glasses so that he could better see.

“Mmrph,” Virgil murmured, shaking his head and trying to get up. He had to be dreaming, none of this was right—

The pain that shot through his body quickly revealed to him that _no,_ this most certainly was not a dream. Virgil let out a yowl of pain and tumbled forward, but not before Logan quickly caught him in his hands—wait, _how_ and _when_ had he gotten so big? Or had he…Virgil blinked and looked down at himself as Logan carefully righted him, laying him down back on the nest of soft blankets he’d woken up in. 

_Why am I a cat?_ He looked at Logan. _And why doesn’t he look like he wants to kill me? And why can’t I move--_

Then he remembered. 

Remus, and the garbage bag full of stolen money, and the chocolate chips which were now all broken on the sidewalk somewhere, an eagle, and something hitting him, unable to make it home…And now here he was in Logan’s house, very much injured, very much _alive,_ and Logan obviously thought he was an actual cat, and would probably try to kill him if he discovered otherwise, and that would _definitely_ kill him if his current injuries hadn’t managed to already.

 _Oh, well that’s wonderful. Just…perfect. Absolutely fantastic,_ he thought sarcastically to himself, as Logan started gently rubbing the top of his head with one finger, whispering something to him that was probably supposed to be comforting but really just put him even more on edge. 

What about Patton and Roman? They must be worried sick right now…they’d probably called the police, but the police would never find him…How was he supposed to get to his dads? How was he supposed to tell them what happened without getting himself killed in the process? He couldn’t even shift...And Remy! What would his best friend think of him now? Was he out looking for him at that very moment, worried out of his mind? Had he even noticed he was gone? Had anybody? Was he gonna die here alone? Would they even find his body?

“Whoah, whoah, calm down” Logan murmured, looking somewhat alarmed as he pulled his hand back. “Hey hey, I dunno why you’re all worked up, but you’re okay, everything’s gonna be okay...you’ll be able to run around in no time, I promise. I’m not gonna hurt you, cat.”

 _This is definitely NOT okay._ Virgil looked up at his captor, his body trembling. 

“Maybe you’re hungry? I—um, I can bring you something to eat...I went out and got some cat food for you earlier…” Logan slowly stood up, keeping his distance so as not to alarm Virgil or scare him, then turned and disappeared into what he assumed was the kitchen (though why Logan would keep cat food in there he had no idea). He heard the crackle of can opener on can, and a few minutes later Logan returned with a little paper plate that had been piled high with cat food...and not the cheap kind, either. 

“I’m sorry I don’t have a real bowl for you,” Logan said aloud as he set the plate down in front of Virgil. “I only thought to get the food...next time I go into town though I promise you’ll have a bowl of your very own.” He smiled a bit, the expression showing itself ever-so faintly on his tired face. An old blue sweater had been draped around his shoulders; the collar of a white button-up poking up from beneath. His hair was messy, with wild curls that mostly obscured his glasses from view as well as his cheeks. He looked like he desperately needed a haircut. Virgil blinked a few times in surprise as he took his so-called enemy in...he looked strangely unthreatening in under the yellow glow of the house’s artificial lights... _that’s weird...that’s just weird..._ he thought with a shiver, shaking his head.

“I’ve always wanted a cat, you know...just never actually went and got one. Been too busy, I guess…” Logan’s eyes darkened for a second. “I swear I’ll find whoever did that to you, and make them regret it…” he blew out an angry huff, clenching and unclenching his fists. “The nerve of some people,” he muttered. 

Virgil stared at Logan, and it was all he could do to not let his jaw drop in shock. Wasn’t Logan supposed to be some stone-cold emotionless villain that just got into trouble for fun? Wasn’t he the type that tripped old ladies on the sidewalk or something? _Hurt peoples’ parents._ Wasn’t that how the bad guys always worked? Why was Logan so...upset that a stupid cat had gotten hurt?

_And you deserved it, no less, attacking a telekinetic like that with literally no planning beforehand._

“I wonder what to call you,” Logan continued on, keeping his voice soft and being sure to give Virgil some space as he sniffed at the cat food. Luckily as a shifter he could appreciate the diet of whatever animal he shifted to, so it didn’t seem disgusting to him at all to be eating cat food. In fact, the meal Logan had provided smelled quite delicious, and he nibbled cautiously at it while the scientist chatted quietly to him. 

“You sort of remind me of that other kid and his friend who keep coming after me when I show up in town...I guess it’s the color scheme. You both wear black.” Virgil froze for a second, before he heard Logan chuckling to himself and realized that he was joking. _Just a joke, just a joke…_ His heart pounded and he tilted his head at the other boy; Logan seemed to talk an awful lot like an adult for someone that couldn’t have been a year older than he was. “...Yeah, definitely the color scheme,” Logan eventually decided with a nod, looking down at Virgil again. “He looks a lot grumpier than you though, to your credit.” He leaned back against the couch and closed his eyes. 

_Some mad scientist…he’s not even 18 yet._

“I mean...I guess I get that, even if it’s stupid,” Logan admitted to himself. “Kid seems to be pretty convinced he’s doing everyone a favor, trying to be some hero and stop me or whatever…In all seriousness though, what is it with humanity’s obsession over heroism and ignoring the true villains of society? Honestly, if people really cared about each other then you’d think they’d all—” he suddenly cut himself off, then shook his head with a loud sigh that almost turned into a laugh.

“I cannot believe I’m sitting here and ranting to a cat. And an injured one no less. Geez, maybe I really am crazy…you seem to like that, eh?” Virgil looked up from where he’d been tucking into the cat food, letting out a soft meow that he at least thought conveyed agreement. He really should’ve researched cat behavior more…how did cats even act? Did they do that? Probably not, he guessed. Why would a cat answer someone?

Speaking of which, cats just…hung around, right? Didn’t do much? Virgil could do that, not like it was hard. Remy already compared him to a cat all the time. If he was careful, he was pretty sure that Logan would just go on thinking that he was a real cat (not that he had any other options, but he didn’t want to think about that). Just for a little while…just until he could shift again, maybe figure out whatever the hell Logan was planning in the meantime, and then he’d go to the police or his parents or _someone_ and tell them everything.

Maybe he could redeem himself and still protect his family.

Maybe this whole mess wouldn’t turn out quite so disastrous after all.

___

Over the next few days, Virgil didn’t do much at all; his body hurt too much to allow him to do more than sleep and maybe shift positions every once and awhile.

He did a lot of looking around his new environment. Logan lived in a small, yet comfortably-sized house, and seemed to really like the color blue, espeically when it came in darker shades. Blue made up the majority of his wardrobe, usually accompanied by black or white and not much else. Blue was also the color of the carpet, the curtains, and the odd abstract painting that hung on the wall over Virgil’s head, as well as the plates and mugs commonly left on the table and counters. From his position he could only watch the kitchen, dining room, and living room, which was fine with Virgil as he was able to learn quite a bit about Logan from that alone.

For one, as the kind of person Virgil had always imagined would be organized and neat and tidy and perfectionistic…Logan was absolutely none of those things, or if he tried to be he very rarely succeeded at it, if ever. Scribbled-on papers were usually scattered over the banged-up coffee table and old couch, companions to the occasional pen or pencil, cold tea and coffee mugs, his phone, and various chargers to name but a few things. The living room looked like an absolute disaster much of the time, and yet Logan always seemed to know exactly where everything was. “Organized chaos,” was often the phrase Virgil heard him use to describe it, and he had no idea how it worked but somehow it did.

Logan also seemed to know exactly how to help Virgil heal and get better from his injuries, carefully bandaging up the gashes he’d received and changing those bandages often, cleaning his fur ever-so gently with a brush and wipes, checking constantly for any sign of infection, sneaking painkillers and medications into his food, being extremely careful with his head and concussion…the list went on. Not only that, but Logan also sat next to his little makeshift bed on the couch every night so that they could sort of hang out, muttering to himself and occasionally commenting to Virgil while he read from a scientific journal or wrote in one of his own.

And it was _weird._ For someone that had always scared him and infuriated him and confused him more than anyone else before, Logan turned out to be strangely…gentle. Kind. Fascinating. Even…cool. He never forgot to feed Virgil even when he failed to feed himself, always made sure his water was full and where he could easily get to it with his healing injuries, checking on him often to make sure he was doing okay and that no new problems surfaced with his healing injuries.

Logan talked to Virgil often, too. Musing about the latest article he’d read in one of his journals, explaining something that had happened during his short trips into town, complaining about his job and the people he dealt with while working. Virgil wasn’t sure how Logan even had a job with the trouble he’d been in with the police, but he was pretty sure that whatever it was it wasn’t good…or legal, at least. His views on just how “bad” Logan was were beginning to change ever-so slightly, and whether or not that was a good thing Virgil had not yet decided.

By the fourth day Virgil was able to move around considerably more than before as the extensive bruising across his body slowly healed, and he could now manage walking as long as he was careful about it. He silently thanked both his shifter ability and Logan’s care for his quick recovery—soon he’d even be able to shift again, thank god. Four days stuck in Logan’s house had been torture even with how he’d been treated, without Roman and Patton and Remy and Emile there with him. He missed hearing Roman singing Disney songs in the back of the bakery, smelling Patton’s cookies right after they came out of the oven, hearing Remy’s sarcastic voice…seeing little Emile’s smile…

 _I’ll be better soon,_ he reminded himself sharply, shaking his head, _and then I can get the hell out of here and back home._ At least he could heal quickly as a shifter, an upside that Virgil had quickly discovered thanks to his stupid occupation that he’d ended up with despite not wanting it at all.

He didn’t care about being a hero. He just wanted his dads to be safe; his family to be safe. Nothing else mattered.

Virgil sighed, comfortably curled up on the top of the couch as he watched cars drive up and down the quiet suburb Logan lived on. He could see his reflection in the window’s rain-streaked surface, and understood in a way why Logan had so quickly made the connection between his cat and human forms, even if he didn’t yet know it was the same person—the same shifter—behind both. His fur was completely black, except for two small lighter-gray patches just under his eyes, which were amber-shaded instead of the usual green found in black cats. Even his expressions, he discovered, looked a lot like…well, him. His build too, lean and tall and hunched over… _Jesus, how did Logan not recognize me?_

It was a dumb question to ask of course, but Virgil couldn’t help but ask it of himself. Blame the anxiety; he always had been a fairly anxious sort. And without Patton there to help him work thought his anxious thoughts…it had been worse than usual, though Logan seemed to have a knack for calming him down as well, which Virgil appreciated more than he wanted to admit.

A soft clicking noise echoed through the living room and the door opened, and he turned as Logan stepped through with a bag of groceries in his hands.

“Hello, Cat,” he greeted. Apparently despite being a literal genius, Logan did not know how to name things, animals included. He nodded to Virgil and almost hesitantly stepped into the room, pulling something from one of the bags in his hands and setting everything else down as he came over to where Virgil was. As he came closer he held the item up for him to see, something that might’ve been excitement reading in his expression as he showed it to Virgil.

“I uh…saw it today…went to the pet store,” Logan explained awkwardly, sitting down on the couch a little ways away from Virgil and holding up the bandana for him to sniff. “It reminded me of you, not sure why…you don’t have to like it, though…” He slowly moved the bandana closer as he spoke, keeping his tone soft and giving Virgil time to move away if he wanted to.

Virgil didn’t move away. Instead he stared at the bandana, his fur prickling up along the back of his neck. _How…the fuck…did Logan find out purple is my favorite color!?_ He wanted to backpedal out of Logan’s reach or run away or even bite him, but he didn’t, staring at the bandana and remaining perfectly still while it gradually inched closer to him in Logan’s hands.

Then Logan suddenly stopped moving it closer, pulling back and looking at Virgil inquiringly.

“I don’t want to put it on you if you don’t like it,” he said again. “I can take it back, you know…oh my god I’m talking to the damn cat again. What the hell do I care, huh?” He gave Virgil a look that was almost accusatory. “Next thing you know I’ll be chatting with the fridge, asking it what to eat for breakfast. If I remember breakfast.” He sighed and dropped his hands, shaking his head with an expression of annoyance—be it towards himself of Virgil, he couldn’t tell. Virgil kept his gaze on the bandana, then looked up at Logan again.

“Meow.”

“Oh yeah?” Logan chuckled, but didn’t move. Virgil glared at him and took a hesitant step forward, nosing his way towards the bandana. He reached Logan’s hand and nudged it with his snout, and Logan looked up at him in surprise.

“Wait, you don’t hate me?” he sounded almost surprised.

 _I haven’t decided on that yet,_ Virgil thought, but he let out a soft purr, coming closer and settling down by Logan’s arm. _Give me the bandana, you idiot._ He missed seeing his favorite color around…in his room, on his favorite patch jacket that Patton had helped him make several years ago, his headphones that Roman had gotten him for his last birthday…

Logan seemed to get the message. He glanced down at the bandana in his hands, then slowly picked it up again, gently clipping it around Virgil’s neck when he once again didn’t shy away from it.

“Wow,” Logan commented, leaning back to look at it. “It looks good on you, actually. What do you think, Cat?” Virgil sat up and looked down at what he could see of the bandana around his neck, then twisted around to look at his reflection in the window again. And he had to admit…the bandana was a nice touch. Definitely not as special as the jacket…but he liked it nonetheless. He meowed at Logan again, then padded over to where he was sitting and settled down next to him. Logan seemed to be a bit surprised by that action as well but didn’t say anything, instead reaching for a magazine and looking over an astronomy article.

“You know what…I’m considering something foolish,” he said aloud after a moment, setting the magazine down again. “I can’t focus on reading at all…man, it’s nice to be able to talk to something that actually listens. Clearly I’ve been missing out on that in the past.” He shook his head, rubbing at his temples with his hands. “Anyhow…there’s been trouble going around town…”

Virgil’s heart pounded against his ribs. What did that mean? Were his dads okay? Had there been a robbery or a murder or a—

“I guess there’s more of us around than I previously had thought,” Logan continued, not noticing Virgil’s distress as he talked. “At first I believed that Differents such as myself were extremely rare, but over time I’m beginning to see that this may not be the case, or at least not as extreme of a case as I’d thought. First there was that kid who can turn into a bird, and now this new one…calls himself Remus, I believe.”

_Oh no._

“And normally, I wouldn’t care, you know? But that imbecile…he’s stealing things at random, destroying things for fun…breaking stuff…people have gotten hurt now.”

_Who? Who got hurt?_

“…Some fool named Thomas, I guess he tried to stop Remus when he—” Logan turned to Virgil when he heard his sigh of relief. “…Cat? Are you alright?”

_More than alright. My dads are okay._

When nothing more happened, Logan shook his head and continued, muttering a short “maybe I am crazy” under his breath before he started his story again. “Anyhow, that fool has been interfering with my work, causing trouble…I only barely managed to escape last time…” he sighed again. “I almost wish that other fool who’s been attacking me would go and stop him, but he’s disappeared. Nowhere to be seen…I’ve even gone looking for him once or twice.” He glanced over at Virgil. “Look, I’m no hero—I’m not even a good person, but I can’t just…I can’t just sit around while this guy’s getting innocent people hurt out there. That’s not…that’s just not how this works.” He let out a long sigh. “At least…it’s not how it _should_ work.”

“So…” Logan let out a long sigh. “So I guess I have to stop him myself.”

Virgil had a lot to think about after that.

Logan lapsed into an almost unsettling silence after his odd declaration, muttering to himself and occasionally shaking his head while he scribbled on several different pieces of paper and scattered them all over his desk to join the previous disasters that had accumulated there during Logan’s last brainstorming sessions. What exactly he was writing down this time Virgil couldn’t figure out, but he guessed that it had something to do with what Logan had just said about stopping Remus. A plan of sorts, most likely.

And if that was the case…he’d have to look through those papers later, Virgil decided. Maybe if he got lucky…if Logan waited until he was well enough to shift before he carried out his so-called “foolish plan,” Virgil could try and help him. He still wasn’t sure what he thought of Logan and his whole “mad scientist” persona, but Remus…Remus was definitely the bigger threat here. He had to do what he could to help, before someone he cared about got hurt.

Before Emile could get hurt.

Virgil didn’t think he’d ever be able to forgive himself if that happened.

___

As it turned out, there was a way to sneak out of Logan’s house if you knew were to look and happened to weigh no more than nine pounds. It actually wasn’t really that great of a feat, just a loose screen on the bathroom window that Virgil had discovered shortly after he’d gathered up enough strength for a small house-exploring expedition. The corner of the screen had been knocked loose, and if you pushed your shoulder up against it, it gave way just enough for you to slip through the space…that is, if you were a cat.

Luckily, Virgil just so happened to be a cat. He was also getting rather tired of being one, although it wasn’t like he had any other options at this point. He couldn’t wait to go back home, and thought about it constantly when he wasn’t otherwise occupied worrying about Logan’s plans to stop Remus. Sometimes Virgil thought about what it would be like to be human again, and see his dads and best friend and little brother and hang out at the bakery and make cookies with Patton and listen to Roman sing…

They must be worried sick about him now.

Currently, Virgil was perched on a half-crumbling fence just outside the house while Logan was away at “work” (he still didn’t know what that even was), his tail flicking slowly back and forth as he surveyed the neighborhood before him. It wasn’t the nicest of suburbs that was for sure, but it also wasn’t the worst. Logan could probably get away with a lot around here without being discovered.

Whether or not that was a good thing, Virgil wasn’t so sure anymore.

He also didn’t like that he couldn’t be sure. After the days he’d spent around Logan who thought he was a mere housecat…he’d learned some things about the self-proclaimed “mad scientist.” And contrary to what he’d expected to learn, they weren’t all bad things. In fact, most of what he learned was actually somewhat…good, somehow. Logan really was proving himself to be downright impossible to understand, with his strange morals and weird ideas that somehow made sense but also didn’t at the same time…Virgil hated that about him.

And yet…he didn’t, somehow.

Virgil would’ve continued down this train of thought until it had long exhausted itself, had a loud shout from up the road not caught his attention.

_Wait…is that my name?_

Virgil sat up and perked his ears, looking around for the source of the noise. Someone was indeed coming up the road towards him, but more than that it seemed to be making a beeline straight for _him._

“Virgil!”

Yep, that was definitely his name. He also recognized the voice calling him.

_Remy!_

“Virgil!” Remy called again, stumbling to a stop in front of Virgil and panting from the run over. “Virgil, I know it’s you babe, I recognized you the moment I saw you. C’mon gurl, say something!” Virgil tilted his head.

“How’d you find me?” he asked, straining to get the sounds to come out right on his cat tongue. It sounded a lot more like an awkward series of meows than actual human speech, but Remy seemed to catch the message anyways.

“We’ve been looking all over town for you!” he almost shouted, nearly dumping his coffee on the ground as he waved his hands about. “Gurl what happened? Tell me! Your dads have been tearing apart the town lookin’ for you! You didn’t…” he hesitated. “…you didn’t run away, did you?”

“No!” At least that word came out clearly. Virgil hurriedly shook his head to emphasize his point. “No…I-I didn’t run away, I would never do that! That new Different, Remus, we got in a fight…he stole something and I went after him…he almost killed me…” he shook his head. “Are…are my dads doing okay?” Remy looked troubled when he heard that question, and Virgil’s heart jackhammered in his ears as his best friend answered him.

“I’ve never seen Patton cry like that before,” Remy said quietly, unable to make eye contact with Virgil as he spoke. He kept his gaze focused elsewhere; looking over Virgil’s shoulder at the house behind him. “I was there when they told Emile that you were gone, and he’s scared that you didn’t like him as a brother and that’s why you left…cried in my arms for over an hour…I tried to tell him that that wasn’t true at all, but I’m not sure he listened to me…” Virgil could feel his heart slowly tearing in half as Remy struggled to explain what he’d seen, thinking of all the times he’d told his little brother _I love you_ and all the times he hadn’t… _I should’ve said it more. I never wanted him to have to feel like this…_

_I never should have left them._

“A-And Roman?” Virgil’s voice was shaking now; he was almost afraid to ask but he couldn’t help it. He had to know.

“He and Patton just sat on the floor of the bakery while I watched Emile for over an hour, and he just held Patton while he cried into his shoulder…” Remy shook his head again. “I’ve never seen him cry like that before,” he repeated. “I…he thinks you were killed trying to protect them and blames himself…Roman looked so broken, and he’s been trying so hard to stay strong but it’s been hard…” he hesitated, then added: “for all of us. You just disappeared out of nowhere…”

Virgil was quiet for a long time.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I…I’m so sorry…”

“Apologize later,” Remy growled, suddenly snapping to attention and shaking his head. “Tell me what happened.”

“Well…for one you’re not gonna believe it.”

“What? C’mon, spill it!” Virgil let out a long sigh, then managed to look Remy square in the eye.

“Logan found me.”

“He did _not._ ” Remy almost dropped his drink in surprise, his eyebrows shooting up above his sunglasses. “He didn’t like…kill you?”

“He found me on the porch after Remus just about ended me. He, uh, thinks I’m a cat.” Virgil flicked his tail at the house behind him. “That’s where he lives.”

“He…” Remy turned away, shaking his head. “Gurl, you’ve been doing a _lot_ while you were gone.” He ran a hand through his hair, blinking rapidly as he tried to process everything Virgil had told him. “So…this villain who we’ve been trying to stop for weeks has now taken you in because he thinks you’re a cat, and I’m assuming that this is only because you couldn’t get home because you were too injured and weren’t able to shift.”

Virgil nodded, and Remy sighed.

“So…is anything else you want to tell me? Any more earth-shattering developments while you were gone?”

“Logan wants to stop Remus.” Remy reached up pulled his shades down, peering at Virgil over the top with amber-colored eyes.

“Bitch, no.”

“Bitch, _yes.”_

“There’s no way.”

“I’m serious, Remy! He even…I guess he really likes cats. It’s weird, dude! I…I don’t even think he’s all bad…I don’t think he’d hurt my dads, not after seeing him…Remy, I think we went after the wrong guy.”

This time Remy did drop his drink. It clattered on the asphalt and rolled into the gravel, spilling coffee all over his shoes and leaving a dark puddle on the roadside. Remy watched its contents pour from the bottle and onto his shoes as if he’d been frozen in place, then let out another long sigh.

“You’re really serious, huh?”

“Dead serious.”

“Wow…” Remy shook his head again, looked down at where his drink had fallen, and scowled at it. “Okay…but gurl, your family. They’re worried about you, why didn’t you come back earlier?”

“Dude, I barely made it out here, and I still can’t even shift! There’s no way I’d make it home! You think I didn’t try!?” Virgil clamped his jaws shut to stop himself, then took a deep breath. “I-I’m sorry for yelling, just…tell my dads that I’m okay, alright? I promise I’ll come back as soon as I can. But I gotta help Logan stop Remus before he gets himself killed and Remus actually starts messing stuff up for real.”

“That…” Remy sighed again. “That makes sense, actually. Damn, I wish I could—”

“—Hey! Get the hell away from my cat, what do you think you’re doing!?” The enraged voice belonged to Logan, who had apparently decided to materialize out of nowhere while the two were talking. He swung his car door open and jumped out, eyes narrowed. Virgil immediately tensed, the fur on the back of his neck prickling up as Logan approached.

“Oh shit,” Remy whispered. He straightened himself, and glared at the other boy. “What, so I can’t pet a damn cat around here? The hell is your problem?” Logan only glared at him.

“Wait a minute…aren’t you one of those stupid kids that’s always causing trouble?” he growled. Remy put his hands on his hips.

“We’re the same age, bitch, who’re you callin’ kid?”

“Get the fuck away from the cat, _now.”_ Logan came closer, electricity sparking between his fingers. Remy’s eyes widened, and he quickly held up his hands. Virgil tensed and stood up, ready to throw himself at Logan if he had to.

“Alright alright, I’m going! Chill!” Remy grabbed his cup off the ground and started walking, turning around as he left.

“Nice bandana!” he called at the last second, winking at Virgil. Logan watched him go, a look of confusion momentarily crossing his face, then turned to Virgil as the scowl returned.

“I…I think he was trying to steal you, Cat.” He said. “Although I’m not sure how you got out…I’ll have to check over the house, I don’t want you getting run over by a car.” He stepped forward, holding out his arms for Virgil to jump to. Virgil looked at Logan, then leaped up onto his shoulder. Better than being grabbed off the fence, he figured.

“I…guess that works too,” Logan said, and started back towards the house.

Virgil just hoped that Remy made it home alright.

___

It had now been a week since Virgil’s near-fatal encounter with Remus. He’d gained back a lot of his strength, and shortly after Logan left for work that day he finally made up his mind to try shifting back to his human form again, just to see if he could. How he planned on telling Logan he wanted to help with the whole defeating-Remus thing he still hadn’t worked out, especially after witnessing his reaction to Remy a few days ago, but he’d figure that part out eventually. Maybe he could write a note or something, leave it on his door…

No, that wouldn’t work.

Virgil let out a sigh of frustration and shook his head, glancing around from where he’d settled down on the living room floor.

 _You might as well shift,_ he told himself. _Stop stalling and just do it, idiot._

Virgil closed his eyes and focused on himself. Slowly but surely, he could feel his fur as it peeled back, replaced by a familiar patch jacket, and paws and claws that became hands and fingernails. His tail disappeared, and so did his triangular ears, replaced by his human ones instead. The “fur” on the top of his head shifted to a dark shade of brown and grew longer and longer, until his familiar bangs dropped in front of his eyes like they always had before. Virgil opened his eyes again and looked down at himself, rubbing his hands together. _Forgot how much I loved my bangs, ha._

“Oh thank god…I have hands again,” he muttered to himself. He went to the desk Logan had been writing at the night before and picked up a few of the papers.

 _Ambush,_ said one sticky note. Another one had an address. Virgil looked it over; the street name wasn’t familiar.

_Is this Remus’ address…?_

Virgil started looking through the papers again, but was interrupted as the front door suddenly swung open, and someone stepped inside. His eyes darted to the driveway.

_Shit!_

There was a car in the driveway. Logan’s car. Logan…who had by now frozen in the front entryway, and was staring at him with an expression that was unreadable and _terrifying_. He’d dropped his keys. Virgil’s gaze darted to where they’d fallen on the floor, scarcely able to breathe, his ribs crushing down on his lungs like iron bars as his chest tightened in fear.

“Who…” Logan hissed finally, forcing the words out through his bared teeth. “…In the _fuck_ are you? And what in the _fuck_ are you doing here?” He started forward and Virgil stumbled back, throwing his hands up over his face.

“I…I was the cat!” he shouted desperately, and Logan glared at him.

“Bullshit,” he snarled, but he suddenly looked more uncertain before. “Wait…I recognize your voice. _You’re_ that kid who—"

“I was! It was me, I was the one who tried to stop you all those times! And the cat! You…you took me in…and gave me the bandana…and you scared off my friend the other day…I swear it’s me!”

Logan stared at him.

Virgil did not like that at all.

“You’re…you’re not gonna kill me…a-are you?”

“I’m not gonna _what!?”_ Logan’s jaw dropped in shock, his hands falling to his sides. “Really, _kill_ you? _That’s_ what you think I’m gonna do!?”

“Well how the hell am I supposed to know!?” Virgil shot back, straightening himself and glaring back at Logan now that he was pretty sure he wasn’t about to get zapped into oblivion. “That’s what you guys do, isn’t it!? You wreck shit, you hurt people! How am I supposed to know exactly what your plan is!?”

“You’re _in_ my fucking _house_!”

“You _brought_ me in here!”

“Not _intentionally_!”

“What, you think I want to be here!?” Virgil snapped. “Trust me, I didn’t want anything to do with you! I still don’t! I wouldn’t _be_ except for that tiny problem where I almost _died!”_

“What happened?” Logan demanded, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked strangely concerned.

“There was a robbery, and Remus—” Virgil started, but Logan interrupted him before he could say anything more.

“—And you tried to be the hero, of course.” Logan rolled his eyes, coming around to sit down on the couch and rubbing his forehead. “What is it with you goddamned Different and thinking you’re all heroes?”

“I’m trying to protect my dads!” Virgil shouted, clenching his fists and glaring down at Logan, who only returned the look. “Maybe if you would’ve stayed away, and if Remus would’ve stayed away, I wouldn’t _have_ to be a fucking hero!”

“And yet here you are, getting in my way!”

_“I don’t want to be a hero!”_

Logan scowled, his gaze shifting to floor at Virgil’s outburst. Virgil wondered for a second if he was about to go back on his whole “not trying to kill anybody” thing, but he didn’t move at all. He just sat there, thinking.

“That doesn’t explain why you’re in my house, pretending to be a cat,” he said finally, his voice still contorted and angry, though calmer than before. “You could’ve left now, you could’ve gone with your friend or said something or…” He sighed and closed his eyes, then opened them again. “What are you still doing here?”

“Because you’re going to get yourself killed if I don’t help you.”

“Help me…” Logan suddenly stopped. “Of course, I told you what I intended to do about Remus…” He glared at Virgil. “That’s absolutely out of the question, I’m not going to be responsible for you if you decide to get yourself killed out there.”

“And _I’m_ not gonna let Remus hurt my family because you got your idiot ass killed trying to stop him instead of _letting me help!”_ Virgil shot back.

“I’m not that stupid,” Logan snapped. “I know what I’m doing, and I can get Remus out of the way just fine without you messing it up.”

“And that’s why a shifter with basically no experience was almost able to beat you?”

“You didn’t even come close to beating me.”

“Oh, really? Why didn’t you just kill me, then? Bet _that_ would’ve gotten me out of the way nicely.”

“Because maybe I don’t want to kill people!” Logan shouted, standing up suddenly from his chair and glaring down at Virgil. He had about two inches on the other boy, but Virgil held his ground, refusing to let that intimidate him. “I never wanted to…I’ve never wanted to kill anybody,” Logan continued. He narrowed his eyes. “You decided that about me, but I have _never_ killed anyone.”

“Like you decided how I want to be a hero?”

“That’s different!”

“How?” Virgil challenged.

Logan opened his mouth to answer, then slowly closed it again. “I…” He shook his head and looked away with a scowl. “Get out of my house.”

Virgil put his hands on his hips. “Alright, I’m gonna make you a deal.”

“You’re not in the position to make deals.”

“Shut up and listen. Now,” he raised an eyebrow. “You can either let me help you defeat Remus, and include me in the planning, or I’ll just show up anyways. Which would you rather do?”

“You know I could call the cops on you,” Logan threatened.

“You won’t, though.” Virgil crossed his arms. “You’re wanted all over town, you’re not stupid enough to call the cops here.”

“Hmph,” Logan looked almost amused for a second, before the glare returned to his face. He didn’t say anything for a long time, before finally throwing his hands up in the air.

“You know what? You wanna go out there and get yourself killed, be my guest. It’s not my problem.” He went over to the desk of papers, grabbing a handful and shoving them into Virgil’s hands. “Welcome to the team.”

___

“Are you seriously telling me you only have like…two forms?”

“I have four,” Virgil growled.

“Oh, because that’s so much better.” Logan sighed, leaning back against his chair and running a hand through his hair in frustration. “How am I supposed to do anything with you?”

The two were sitting at Logan’s dining table with cold tea in front of them while they argued about what to do with Remus, Virgil in a purple and blue-striped sweater he’d gotten from Logan and jeans that he’d also let him borrow until he could get home and get his own stuff. 

“You do understand that I can learn new forms…don’t you?” Virgil asked. “I just haven’t practiced it a lot yet, I only learned I could shift a few years ago.” He huffed and crossed his arms, glaring at Logan from across the table. “I’m not useless, you know.”

“We’ll see about that,” Logan muttered.

“Look, my dads didn’t want me doing it a lot in case I ended up passing out or hurting myself, and they were scared too! They didn’t know what I could do…it’s not like the world’s nice us Differents, Logan.”

“Oh, I hadn’t noticed that at all,” Logan hummed, typing something into his computer.

“What are you doing?” Virgil asked. No answer. He made a face and sat back, arms crossed over his chest. Maybe he should just leave and let Logan go kill himself, if he was so keen on not letting him do anything and constantly insulting him like this…

Distantly, he could hear the sounds of a printer whirring, and Logan got up. Without a word he disappeared into one of the house’s back rooms, coming back a few minutes later and slapping a stack of papers in front of Virgil. He hesitantly picked it up and started looking through them.

“Inland taipan snake? Cougar? Weasel? What the hell is this?” Virgil asked, shuffling through pictures of fairly dangerous-looking animals, most of which he’d never even heard of before.

“Look, you need to be able to create a good distraction, but you also need to be able to protect yourself. The Inland taipan snake, for instance,” Logan said, placing a finger on the picture, “is the most venomous snake on the planet. Though, I’d rather you use that as a last resort.” He sat back, adjusting his watch with one hand. “If you learn multiple forms, and use them to your advantage as well as working out how to shift between them quickly, you could become fairly powerful—and no, you still would never beat me.” He shot a glare at Virgil’s hopeful expression, and he quickly returned the look.

“Oh fuck you,” he growled, picking the papers up again and looking through them. “…How many of these do I have to figure out again?”

“Well, given that we can’t figure exactly when Remus will try to strike next due to his unpredictable nature, and as you yourself have stated you need time to learn them, I would advise that you pick only three and learn those for now.” He tilted his head slightly and scrunched his nose, his eyes becoming unfocused—a sure sign that he was thinking about something. Virgil raised an eyebrow and waited.

_How dare he be that damn cute._

“What if…” Logan suddenly looked up again, looked at Virgil, and shook his head. “Do you know if you are capable of shifting your features at will?”

“You mean looking like someone else?”

“Yes. And I suppose…can you hold the features of two or more different animals at once?”

“I’ve never tried it before.” Logan nodded.

“It will have to do. If you can find a good human form to shift to, I believe that will make an adequate distraction in order for me to get to Remus. If we’re quick, I can shock him and he’ll never be the wiser.”

“And if we’re not?”

“Then we’ll probably both die.”

“Sounds fun. When do we start?” Logan allowed a small smile to cross his face this time, then shook his head.

“Come with me,” he said, standing up and heading for the door.

“Wait, come with you where? What are we doing?”

“You’ll see.” Virgil narrowed his eyes, but ran after Logan as he led the way to the car.

“They’re gonna find my body out in the woods in approximately three weeks,” he muttered, but went to the passenger side anyways.

“Oh please,” Logan rolled his eyes as he got into the car. “If I killed you, they’d never find your body.”

“At least then I’d fulfill my dream of being featured on Buzzfeed Unsolved.”

“A worthy goal.”

“Thank you.”

Logan pulled the car out of the driveway, and began making his way past the suburbs and towards the edges of town where the houses met the forest. Neither said anything over the duration of the drive, and after a few minutes Logan pulled into a parking lot in front of a wide trail that led into the trees.

“What is this bullshit?” Virgil asked, peering through the windshield at the trail.

“You’re worried about frightening off people—this would help with that issue, I’d think.” Logan pulled the earlier stack of papers from the backseat and passed them to Virgil. “Let’s go. We don’t have a lot of time.”

Virgil looked at the papers, then sighed and got out of the car. He made his way to the trail, glancing around the parking lot and noting that there were no other cars around.

“What if someone comes?”

“Then you’ll hide, quickly.” Virgil scowled at that, but didn’t stop, stepping onto the trail and taking a slow pace down it while he examined the papers in his hand.

“What forms do you have, speaking of which? I don’t believe I asked. I know of the raven and the cat, but what are the other two?” Logan’s voice came from behind him.

“Eagle and mouse.” The footsteps behind him stopped.

“A…mouse.”

“It was the first one I learned, alright!?” Virgil turned and glared at him. “Shut up.”

“How long does it take you to learn each form?” Logan asked.

“Not long.”

“And you only have four?”

“I don’t shift often; I don’t see the need to. I can fly around if I want, and that’s good enough for me. I have other things to do aside from running around and trying to wreck shit up _all the damn time_.”

“Watch it,” Logan hissed.

“No.” Virgil made a face at the other boy, then stopped as they came to a small clearing. “This will work,” he stated, looking down at the papers in his hands again.

“Did you pick which forms you wanted to learn?”

“Yeah. I’m gonna go with weasel, panther, and whatever the hell this is.” Virgil held up a picture of the last creature, and Logan raised an eyebrow.

“A dingo. Interesting choice. Surprised you haven’t heard of it.”

“Yeah, well I was surprised you hadn’t heard of manners, but we don’t all get what we want do we?” Logan scowled at him, but didn’t answer, yanking away the rest of the papers and stepping back.

“Ow!” Virgil yelped as a small shock rippled up his fingers. “Really, dude?!”

“Show me what you can do,” Logan said, ignoring Virgil’s outburst and folding his arms across his chest. Virgil gave him a nasty look, but when he didn’t respond he turned away, folding the papers up and stuffing them into his back pocket.

He closed his eyes.

Right away could feel his bangs pulling away from his face as fur rippled along his skin, his arms and legs growing shorter and shorter until he could tell he wasn’t far off the ground. His body felt weird and compressed, but that feeling would go away with time, he knew. Virgil opened his eyes. Dark brown fur crowded around his long thin body, little paws splayed out on the ground to help hold his balance.

“Agh, and here comes the headache,” he groaned, pressing his face to the ground.

“You’re…a weasel,” Logan said.

“Yeah no shit,” Virgil’s voice came out as a squeaky mess, and he winced at how his head throbbed at the effort to speak.

“You sound cute.”

“Fuck you.” He shook his head, and tried to turn in a circle. His entire body ached and throbbed like it always did when he first attempted a new form—the more often he shifted to a form the easier it got, so after several tries this feeling would hopefully mostly dissipate. If it didn’t, well…the confrontation with Remus wasn’t going to end well for him.

Logan laughed.

 _Wait…_ he _laughed?_ Logan _laughed?_ Virgil cocked his head to the side, looking up at the strange sound coming from Logan’s mouth. 

“It’s just…so weird to hear your voice coming from a weasel’s mouth…I apologize…” Logan chuckled after a minute, then his expression shifted to become more serious once more. “So…um, now what?”

“Let’s walk. I have to get used to this form so that it’ll be easier to shift next time.”

“Very well.” Logan began to slowly pacing ahead, looking down at Virgil as he scampered by his side. He smirked, but knocked down the expression before Virgil could snap at him.

“How long do you wish to walk?” he asked instead.

“Shouldn’t be too long. I think it gets easier each time I try a new form, this isn’t nearly as bad as last time…” he broke into a run, then leaped onto Logan’s pantleg, scrambling up his body and jumping onto his shoulder.

“Too short down there,” he stated, as Logan jumped and turned towards him in surprise. “Easier to see up here.” He rode on Logan’s shoulder for a few minutes, then scrambled onto the top of his head.

“Ouch!” Logan shouted, tripping forward as his messy hair flopped forward into his eyes. “You’re pulling my hair!”

“Oops,” Virgil said lightly, untangling one of his claws for where it was gripping Logan’s hair. “I almost car—oh wait, no I don’t. Ha.”

“Asshole,” Logan snapped, trying to dislodge Virgil with his hands as he stumbled uneasily down the trail, nearly careening off of it more than once because he still couldn’t see.

“Takes one to know one.” Virgil grabbed another paw-ful of hair and yanked especially hard, then leapt away as Logan let out another shout of pain.

 _Hmmm, seems like he can’t discharge electricity as well if he’s distracted..._ Virgil’s thought was cut off abruptly as he landed, tumbling forward a few times before he got to his feet and shook the dust out of his fur. Then he scampered back down the trail while Logan ran after him, shouting obscenities and shaking his fist.

_Only two more forms to go._

\---

They returned to Logan’s house several hours later just before dusk, Logan looking somewhere between amused and furious while Virgil merely slumped in his seat with his eyes closed, sore and exhausted from all the shifting he’d done earlier. A headache was now throbbing sharply behind his eyes. _The perfect cherry on top. Awesome,_ Virgil thought sarcastically.

“Ugh,” he said aloud as the car pulled into the driveway.

“I told you you’d regret agreeing to this.”

“Didn’t say I regretted it. Every...ability has its pros, and its cons. Including you, whether you want to keep pretending you’re invincible or not.”

“I don’t pretend to be invincible,” Logan growled as he pulled the car to a stop, opening the door and stepping out of the car. “I’ve just developed my abilities better than you have. Because you know, I actually practice using them.”

“What’s the extent of your abilities, anyways?” Virgil asked as he stumbled out of the car, and nearly fell on his face in the process.

“That’s none of your concern. However, they do exist. As do Remus’. We just have to expose them and use them to our advantage.”

“None of my concern, hmph.” Virgil rolled his eyes as he followed Logan inside. The other boy didn’t answer him, instead disappearing into his bedroom and leaving Virgil out by himself in the living room. “Really?” he called at the door to Logan’s room, which he knew would be locked. “Thanks a lot.”

No answer.

He fell asleep on the couch that night.

___

_It was dark. Too dark. He could hardly see his hands in front of him and yet he was running, running as fast as his legs could carry him. His feet pounded hollowly on the ground below._

_“Dad!” Virgil screamed into the darkness. “Dad!”_

_He tripped, fell, and got up and ran again. Pushing his way past the darkness, stumbling through the shadows, frantically searching for any sign of Patton somewhere…anywhere…_

_Where was his father?_

_Virgil kept running, faster, faster, until he thought he saw a light in the distance. He ran towards it. Something dark was moving in the pinpoint of brightness, something horrible…_

_“Virgil!” a faint voice called him._

_“Dad!” Virgil stopped; the voice was coming from the opposite direction of the light. He tried to turn back, but whatever had been in that little bit of light was now coming after him, reaching out its tentacles, wrapping around his arms and legs, dragging him away and back into the darkness…_

“DAD!” Virgil screamed, a loud thump following his cry as he fell off the couch and landed awkwardly on the floor.

Down the hall, Logan’s door slammed open, followed by his footsteps as he rushed into the living room.

“Get away…get back!” Virgil shouted at him, waving his arms wildly in front of his face as the fogginess remained wrapped around his mind, convincing him the dream was still real, that he was still being taken away, that he’d never see his dad again…

“Virgil.” Logan carefully knelt down next to him just out of reach of his failing arms, saying his name quietly, steadily. “Virgil, it’s me. You’re okay. It’s just a dream. I’m right here.”

But it seemed like Virgil couldn’t hear him. He kept muttering and shouting incomprehensibly, twisting around on the floor, and Logan sighed. He sat down nearby, and continued talking aloud.

“It’s me, Logan. You don’t have to be afraid of me. You came to my house just over a week ago as a cat, remember? That bastard Remus beat you up, and you were injured. We’re going to beat Remus though, so he can’t hurt your dads…”

“Patton!” Virgil shrieked suddenly. “Roman!”

“I’m guessing those are your dads?” Logan asked calmly. “They sound like good people. I…I wish that I could’ve had a family like that sometimes. I bet you love them a lot, going to such lengths to protect them like this.”

“I…” Virgil’s hands lowered slowly, and he blinked rapidly. _What’s happening? Where am I?_

“There you go,” Logan said soothingly. “You’re alright. It was just a dream. I’m here. You’re okay. Nothing’s going to hurt you.”

“I…what? What happened?” Virgil slowly tried to sit up, looking around and looking confused when he saw that he was on the ground. The last wisps of terror still clung to him, dark and cold. “Logan? What are you doing?” he shivered. “Was…was I shouting?”

“Yeah. You had a nightmare,” Logan answered, offering Virgil a hand. He took it, and Logan helped him to carefully sit up against the front of the couch.

“Sorry for waking you up,” Virgil murmured.

“Don’t worry about it. I get them too.” Logan slowly stood up. “I…would you like for me to stay for a while? I could put something on…to help you calm down.”

“Is that what you do after you have a nightmare?”

“Sometimes, yes.”

Virgil slowly got up, sitting back down on top of the couch. “Yeah…I’d appreciate that,” he admitted. He shivered again and Logan nodded, turning and retreating into the kitchen. Virgil stayed quietly on the couch, hugging himself and feeling the fabric of his hoodie on his hands, trying to ground himself to the present. That awful spine-tingling, soul-chilling feeling of the nightmare gradually faded as he watched Logan heat up water for something, possibly tea (he just seemed that type), his messy hair catching the kitchen’s warm yellow lights so that his silhouette looked almost alienlike.

It was strangely calming.

Logan came back a few minutes later with two steaming mugs, passing one off to Virgil and keeping one for himself. Virgil carefully took the mug offered to him and sniffed at it. _Hot chocolate._ It smelled sweet and comforting. He took a small sip as Logan turned on the TV, then selected a space documentary.

“Will this suffice for you?”

 _I knew he was a nerd._ Virgil nodded.

“Yeah…that’s fine. Thanks.”

“Very well.” Logan started the documentary, then looked at Virgil curled up next to him. He frowned and got up again, returning with a bundle in his arms which he unfolded into a big blue fluffy blanket.

“Seems a bit over the top for a movie date,” Virgil chuckled when he saw the blanket.

“I know how much nightmares suck. And you’re cold. Scoot over.” Virgil raised an eyebrow and hesitantly obliged, letting Logan spread the blanket over the two of them as the documentary quietly started.

Logan watched the TV as planets and comets swirled past it, enraptured, all of his attention focused on the narrator as he began explaining the solar system in detail to the audience. Virgil tried to listen as well, but he soon found himself yawning sleepily, unable to keep his eyes on the screen. Logan was just so warm, and the voice of the narrator so calming, and the flickering lights on the screen so real, and _safe..._

Eventually, he fell asleep, his head slumping against Logan’s shoulder.

Logan started in surprise when he felt Virgil’s weight leaning against him, and when he looked over he realized that the other boy had fallen asleep. A soft smile crossed his expression, and then he turned back to finish the documentary. 

___

When Virgil opened his eyes the next morning, the first thing he realized was that he felt incredibly warm, warmer than he’d been in a while…

He was leaning against Logan.

The nerd had fallen asleep with Virgil’s head on his shoulder, his glasses askew on his face _(must’ve forgotten to take them off)_ and his hair a mess of brown waves and curls. He was wearing blue and black plaid pajama pants and a white NASA T-shirt, and how he wasn’t freezing Virgil had no idea. The blue blanket he’d brought in last night was now pretty much completely in Virgil’s possession—he must’ve pulled it off Logan sometime in the night, probably because he’d gotten cold and taken it in his sleep.

Virgil blinked a few times but didn’t move, not wanting to wake Logan up after how he’d kept him up the night before.

 _Godddamn nightmares,_ he thought to himself. He hated to seem like a weakling, especially in front of Logan. Especially after how useless Logan already seemed to think he was…Although the funny thing was, Logan hadn’t seemed to mind. He hadn’t insulted Virgil last night for freaking out—he hadn’t even been upset at all. In fact, if Virgil remembered correctly he’d even mentioned having nightmares of his own before. Which meant…he understood how it felt to wake up after having one.

Virgil thought about that for a while, until Logan mumbled something under his breath and yawned, blinking his eyes open and looking over at him.

“Ah…good morning,” he said awkwardly. Virgil jumped back, running a hand through his hair and letting the blanket slide off his shoulders as he scooted away to give Logan space.

“Uh…sorry,” he mumbled. “Didn’t wanna wake you up.”

“No need to apologize.” Logan stood up and stretched, then trudged back into the bedroom, leaving Virgil behind on the couch. He returned a few minutes later in a sweater and black jeans, his hair barely tamed but better than before. Virgil got up and met him in the kitchen.

“We’re gonna be real fancy today,” Logan said, pulling a box of Pop Tarts out of the cupboard and tossing a package to Virgil, who caught it easily. “I think I’ve pinpointed Remus’ location. We need to go check it out before he disappears again and we’re forced to wait even longer before we can confront him.”

“Sounds fun.” Virgil yawned, tearing off the wrapper to his Pop Tart and taking a bite. _Blueberry._ His favorite kind. He hadn’t eaten these in a while, preferring Patton’s delicious homemade breakfasts at home…

 _Patton._ God Virgil missed him. He missed seeing his dad’s smile behind round glasses smudged with flour, missed hearing his laughter, missed listening him sing along to old songs on the radio with Roman. He missed trying his cookies fresh out of the oven, and laughing when Roman burnt his tongue because he was too excited for them to wait for them to cool down. He missed having Remy there to laugh with him, missed dancing along to silly music with his little brother because how could _anyone_ say no to those puppy eyes…

“You okay?” Virgil looked up and saw Logan watching him from across the counter, an almost-concerned look in his eyes.

“Huh?” he asked, then shook his head as the question registered. “Oh…yeah, I’m fine, just miss my dads.”

“Patton and Roman?” Virgil looked up in surprise.

“How the hell do you know their names? I never told you who they were.”

“You were yelling about them last night,” Logan answered. Virgil’s expression dropped and he looked away again, almost embarrassed.

“Oh.” Logan shrugged, finished the last of his Pop Tart and stood, motioning for Virgil to follow as he started for the front door.

“Let’s go,” he said. Virgil didn’t argue and quickly followed him, glad to avoid having to talk about his family as he swallowed the last bite of his breakfast and ran out the door. He was still wearing Logan’s sweater, but the other boy didn’t seem to care as he slid into the passenger seat of his car.

“Still feeling sore?” Logan looked over at him as he clipped in his seatbelt, one eyebrow raised in question.

“Nah. I heal pretty quickly, so I should be fine,” Virgil answered. Logan made a face that he couldn’t read but didn’t say anything, pulling the car onto the street and shoving the gas pedal to the floor. It didn’t take long for Virgil to notice that they were definitely breaking the speed limit—wherever Logan was going, he was clearly in a hurry to get there. _Which makes sense, with Remus on the loose and all._ He couldn’t help but worry about it though, although he refused to complain, watching the houses and trees flash by his window as they drove. He was pretty sure that Logan knew what he was doing, whatever that was. He’d have to trust that for now.

After some time the houses and neighborhoods thinned out as they drove further and further away from the city, then so did the forest, evergreens fading to sagebrush and old fields empty of wheat.

Still they drove.

Nearly an hour later Logan abruptly slammed on the brakes, spinning the car onto another road. Virgil grabbed at the doorhandle as he was jerked forward by the sudden change in velocity with a yelp, then looked up and out through the windshield with wide eyes. Logans hands were gripped around the steering wheel as the car creeped down an old dirt and gravel road, his expression tense and eyes fixed on an abandoned-looking house perched on a hill at the end. Virgil hurriedly pulled out his phone and typed something into it, then set it down again.

“He’s all the way out here?” His voice cracked as he spoke, finally daring to break the tense silence.

“From what I’ve gathered, yes.”

“And we’re just…driving up to it?”

“That’s right.”

“With no plan?”

“Idiot, of course I have a plan.” Logan briefly turned to glare at Virgil. “You are now an honorary Girl Scout.”

“…You’re fucking me.”

“Here are your cookies.” Logan stopped the car and reached into the backseat, pulling out a box and passing it to Virgil. “Hurry up and shift, we’re going to seem suspicious if we take too long.” Virgil scowled at Logan, but took the box.

“This is Despicable Me all over again,” he muttered, and then his body shrank, and his hair grew longer and longer, and the patch jacket disappeared, and he was a little girl with dark skin and black hair drawn into a ponytail. A purple T-shirt and black jacket hung around his shortened torso, paired with jeans and sneakers.

“I hate you,” he grumbled. Logan laughed at his voice, which was now childish and high-pitched to fit his new form. “Yeah yeah, laugh it up.” Virgil made a face at Logan as he got out of the car, clutching the box of cookies in his hands.

“You didn’t tell me you could shift your clothes,” Logan called after him.

“Yeah well it’s a pain in the ass so I don’t do it much. The normal stuff’s better.” Virgil rolled his eyes and turned towards the house, looking over the boarded windows, cracked wood, and peeling paint of the exterior. A shiver ran down his spine. “What the hell am I getting myself into?” he muttered to himself.

 _I’m gonna make Logan pay for this,_ Virgil thought as he went up to the porch and rang the doorbell.

The next thing he knew, the door was flung open and there was a knife at his throat. 

___

Virgil’s eyes widened and he dropped the box with a yelp, jerking away from the blade. It followed him, pressing sharply against his neck.

“Move an inch and you won’t have a head,” a voice hissed, and Virgil’s stomach dropped as his gaze landed upon his attacker.

_Remus._

“I-I’m just trying to sell cookies!” he cried in the most childish voice he could muster, putting his hands up. “I…I wasn’t gonna do nothin’!”

“Sure you are,” Remus sneered, pressing the knife harder against Virgil’s neck. He hissed in pain as a trickle of blood ran down his skin, too scared to move.

“What…what do you want from me?”

“Where’s your friend, shifter?”

“He’s in the car!” Virgil coughed. “How…how did you know who I was?”

“I watched you drive up here. I know what you’re up to. How stupid do you think I am?!” he took a step forward, and Virgil nearly fell down the steps as he tried to get away from the sharp blade. He grabbed at the railing, his knuckles turning white with terror. “You’re friend’s not in the car, shifter.” Remus pressed the knife even harder against his throat, a dangerous snarl in his voice. _“Where is he!?”_

“I-I don’t know!” Virgil almost shouted, risking a look back at the car. Logan wasn’t there.

 _I’m going to die,_ he thought.

And then something crashed through the balcony and dropped onto Remus, knocking him down and throwing Virgil back into the road in a cloud of gravel and dust. He quickly took his chance and shifted to his weasel form, bolting through the front door and into the house while Remus struggled with what appeared to be a humanoid robot on the porch. The knife he’d been holding flew past him, missing him by mere inches, and Virgil realized that his dash hadn’t gone unnoticed. He scampered up the cracking wooden steps as quickly as he could, up to the second story where he ran to a window and peered through the boards nailed across it. He saw Remus toss the robot aside with a roar, getting up and stalking towards the car. Virgil quickly shifted, standing up to his full height in the window and tearing the boards away from it.

“Where do you think you’re going, dumbass?” he called. Remus whipped around with narrowed eyes at him, his fists clenched at his sides. “Yeah you. Where do you think you’re going? There’s nobody in the car, you idiot!” He forced himself to laugh, loud and arrogant. “We tricked you! You’re so stupid, and we tricked you!”

_C’mon Logan, where are you?_

Something rattled behind him, and before Virgil could duck out of the way a chair slammed into him, knocking him through the already-broken window with a crash. He barely had time to register the pain before he frantically shifted, wings growing over arms and black feathers over skin until a raven shot free of the fast-approaching ground, shifting again to a weasel just before he rammed into Remus’ chest.

“What the—” Remus frantically tried to grab at Virgil but he was too quick, scrambling around his torso and just managing to keep out of the reach of his hands. He was afraid to take a bigger form or even run away, as then he’d only be a bigger target for the other boy.

“JUMP!” someone shouted from near the house. Virgil didn’t hesitate; launching himself off Remus’ shoulder just as a massive arc of electricity slammed into his chest. He screamed and his body shook, stumbling forward before he dropped in front of the porch steps, unmoving. Virgil scampered over to Logan, clawing his way to his shoulder and perching there.

“When did you plan on telling me about the robot?” he asked, looking at where it was now lying dented and crumpled in the driveway.

“I intended to tell you before we ah…actually fought him,” Logan said awkwardly. “Today was only supposed to be for observation, but as you can see that didn’t exactly…happen.” He looked away. “Sorry,” he muttered.

“Whatever.” Virgil shook out his fur. “What do we do now?”

“I’ll alert the police.” Logan turned away, pulling his phone from his pocket.

A knife slammed into it. Logan let out a shout of pain and dropped his phone as the blade pierced through it, blood dripping from his hand.

“I don’t think so,” said a voice from behind them.

Virgil jumped.

Electricity shot through the air.

Rocks and wooden boards trembled and catapulted off the ground.

 _I need to distract Remus,_ Virgil thought frantically as he flew away, now in his eagle form. _I need to get his attention off of Logan._

_I need to be a bigger target._

Virgil took a deep breath, then spun around and dropped to the ground, noting the headache that began pounding behind his eyes as he ran inside the house. A dingo’s fur was wrapped around his new form, sharp and rust-red, and though he tried to be quiet his nails clicked loudly on the wooden floor as he scrambled across it. He couldn’t keep up this shifting much longer until his energy gave out, and he was stuck again in whatever form he was in. He had to hurry.

A shout erupted from outside; Remus. He’d been noticed again. Virgil yelped as the boards under him shifted, items pulling free from their places and flying at him from every direction. He frantically tried to dodge the attacks and ran for the stairs, a new idea quickly taking form in his mind.

_Our only chance._

He could only hope Logan would know what to do.

Meanwhile Remus pounded up the stairs after him, objects flying loose and knocking Virgil aside at every step. He was covered in bruises now but he kept running; up the stairs, down the hallway, and into a room where he dove under the bed. There he hid, crouching low, struggling to breathe without making too much sound.

Then Remus appeared. “Where are yoooouuu?” he sang, swinging his knife bath and forth as he paced across the room. A few items around Virgil trembled, but none leapt from their places at him. He hadn’t been seen yet.

 _Is he running out of energy?_ Virgil could only hope that was the case; that Remus no longer had the strength to tear apart the room like he already knew he could. His enemy began walking down the other side of the bed, humming and swinging his knife.

Back and forth.

Back and forth.

Back and forth.

_Bam!_

Virgil shot out from his hiding place and catapulted back down the hall. There was a crash and then Remuss was after him again, stumbling down the hallway and shouting obscenities. The knife in his hands was shaking.

_He’s definitely getting weaker._

Down the stairs, through the living room, and out the door. Virgil slid to a stop and turned just as Remus crashed through the door behind him, struggling to gasp for air and hold his balance while his entire body ached. Remus grinned evilly at him and started across the porch, gripping the knife in his hand.

And then Logan grabbed him. He leaped out from behind the door as Remus passed him, wrapping the other boy in a bear hug as they both crashed down the porch steps. Electricity arced around them and Remus screamed.

The house above them trembled.

Then it collapsed.

Virgil let out a yelp, instinctively scrambling backwards as the balcony came down, burying the pair under wooden planks and boards with a sickening cacophony of snapping and cracking. Remus’ animalistic shrieking abruptly stopped. Nothing moved.

“Logan!” Virgil screamed.

__

Without thinking Virgil rushed forwards, shifting to his human form as he plunged into the debris of the collapsed house.

“Logan!” he shouted again, pulling away rotting boards as fast as he could while his headache pounded sharply behind his eyes, even worse than before after the last shift. His hands shook with exhaustion but he didn’t dare stop, shouting Logan’s name over and over, tears streaming down his face as he pulled away board after board until…

There he was, bruised and bloodied and half-covered in debris. He wasn’t moving.

“Logan!” Virgil dropped to his knees and pressed his ear to Logan’s chest, straining to hear a heartbeat.

_Tha-thump...tha-thump...tha-thump..._

Virgil almost cried with relief. Logan’s heartbeat was steady; there—weak, but it was there. Virgil pulled him into a hug, letting his tears soak into Logan’s shirt, then struggled to stand with the unconscious nerd in his arms. His legs trembled and shook and his knees threatened to give out, but he stubbornly held on, stumbling down the driveway as he fought to stay on his feet. Logan had miraculously avoided receiving the brunt of the injuries, thanks to being partially shielded by Remus’ body on top of him (and if he was being honest, Virgil couldn’t find the energy to care about his condition at that moment), but he was still worried about him. He needed to get Logan to his dads, and fast.

And like a miracle, another car appeared in the driveway, dust flying up behind it as it spun towards Virgil at alarming speeds. He stopped, watching it as it screeched to a stop in front of him, eyes wide. He barely had enough time to recognize the car as Remy’s before his best friend jumped out and rushed over to him, looking at the unconscious Logan in horror.

“Is he—” he started to ask, but Virgil shook his head.

“No. We got him, Remus is still partly buried under what used to be the house.” He motioned back towards it with his head, and Remy nodded before running off towards where he’d indicated. As he disappeared the side doors of the car opened, and Patton and Roman climbed out and sprinted over to Virgil’s side.

“Virgil!” they both shouted.

“Dads!” Virgil stumbled over to them and Roman took Logan in his strong arms, letting Virgil collapse against Patton’s chest as his dad drew him into a gentle hug. It felt so good to be in Patton’s arms again—safe, warm, comforting… _home_. Everything was going to be alright now. It had to be.

“You’re okay,” Patton whispered, tears streaming down his face. “Oh thank God you’re alright. Are you hurt? What happened? Tell me everything.”

“Remy told us a little bit about Logan, but we don’t know much,” Roman added, shuffling his feet nervously. “We’d really like to know what’s going on, Virgil.”

“I promise I’ll tell you guys everything,” Virgil said quickly, looking between his parents and Logan, “but we need to take Logan back before the police get here. Remy?” he called, turning towards his friend.

“Yeah I called them!” Remy shouted back. “Also I found Remus, he’s alive. Think he broke his arm though.”

“Kiddo, don’t you think we should take Logan to the hospital with Remus?” Patton asked gently. Virgil hurriedly shook his head.

“He’d freak out if he woke up there, I can’t do that to him. Logan doesn’t trust doctors…he wasn’t hurt too bad I don’t think, just knocked out. I don’t want to have to take him there unless we absolutely have to.”

“Okay…but what about Remus, then?” Roman asked. “We can’t just leave him here.”

“What if you guys stayed with him?” Remy suggested as he came back to where the other three were standing, tilting his head and putting his hands on his hips. “You guys can wait with Remus until the police get here, and we can take Logan’s car back to your place in the meantime. I’ll check him over when we get back.”

Patton and Roman exchanged worried looks.

“Are…are you sure you’re okay?” Patton asked after a moment. Virgil nodded, looking at Logan again.

“I’ll be alright,” he said. “I…I just want to make sure Logan’s okay.” Roman sighed; looked at Patton.

“Alright,” he said finally. “But we need to talk when we get back tonight, okay?”

“Yeah. I have a lot to tell you guys. I promise I’ll explain everything.” Virgil let Patton hug him again, and then he and Roman helped him get Logan into the back seat of the car while Remy slid into the driver’s seat.

“Alright babes, let’s do this,” he said. Patton and Roman stood back and waved as he started down the driveway, while Virgil stayed twisted around in his seat to keep a close eye on Logan. He waved once to his dads, then turned his focus back to the task at hand.

Thankfully, nothing disastrous occurred on the way back, and Virgil and Remy arrived at Roman and Patton’s house an hour later. Together they carefully unloaded Logan, carrying him into the house and gently laying him down on the couch. Virgil went to the closet and found a soft blanket, draping it over Logan while Remy set about getting out a medic kit and checking the other boy’s injuries over. Virgil sat down cross-legged on the floor while he worked, keeping an anxious eye on his every move.

\---

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” he asked half an hour later, for the fifth time.

“Bitch, go sit down over there,” Remy ordered and stood up, pointing at a chair over in the kitchen. “Stop pestering me while I’m trying to work.” Virgil huffed.

“Where’s Emile?”

“Virgil, some days…” Remy let out a long sigh. “He’s at daycare. He’s fine. We’ll get him once your dads get back, alright?” Virgil made a face, but didn’t argue.

“Alright, fine, I can tell where I’m not wanted.” He got up and went over to the chair he’d been directed to, collapsing onto it and contenting himself to quietly watch Remy as he worked on Logan. Even though he was brimming with dozens of questions he didn’t ask any more, keeping his mouth shut after his best friend’s order.

_He knows what he’s doing. I just have to stop worrying…_

After some time—could’ve been hours, could’ve been minutes for all Virgil knew—Remy stepped away from the couch and stretched, looking satisfied with his work.

“Logan’s going to be fine,” he announced. “He’ll have a nasty headache when he wakes up and he’ll need to avoid strenuous activity for a while, but other than that all he needs is rest and quiet.”

Virgil breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

The door opened.

Virgil looked up as his dads came inside, and…

_Emile._

“Virgil!”

“Emile!” the two brothers rushed towards each other, Virgil kneeling down just as Emile launched himself into his arms, knocking him to the floor as his wrapped his little arms around Virgil’s neck.

“Virgey, Virgey I missed you so much!” he cried, pressing his face against Virgil’s chest. “Please never go away again! I was so scared!”

“I’m so sorry, bumblebee,” Virgil’s voice cracked with emotion, and tears rolled down his face as he hugged Emile tightly against him, never wanting to let go. “I never wanted to go away and leave you. I missed you so, so much.”

“You did?” The tone of almost-surprise in Emile’s voice broke his heart even more.

“Every day, buddy.” Virgil sobbed, and Emile cried, and Patton and Roman started crying too as he sat up, then hugged him again. “I missed seeing you every day.”

“Yeah…” Emile sniffed and wiped away a tear. “I missed you too.”

Patton and Roman knelt down next to Virgil and he leaned into their arms, letting them all hug him, letting himself relax into their warmth and safety and love.

 _We’re together again,_ he thought, a small smile crossing his face through his tears. _We’re safe. They’re safe. I did it._

“Okay…” Roman said quietly as they all finally pulled away. “Virgil, I think you have a story for us, don’t you?”

“I do.” Virgil nodded, and sniffed. Emile ran off and brought him a tissue, which he accepted gratefully. “Thanks buddy.”

“I’ll go make some cocoa,” Patton offered. “And then you can tell us all about it, okay? Remy?” he called into the living room. “You want cocoa?”

“Cocoa sounds great,” Remy called back. “You got any coffee you could mix with it?”

“I’ll handle that,” Virgil said, standing up. “Emy, can you help me?” His little brother nodded and came with him into the kitchen after Patton, helping him get out the milk and chocolate syrup and the coffee powder. They set up the ingredients and began heating the milk, Emile stirring in the chocolate while Virgil added the coffee powder (he knew just how much Remy liked). He made two part-cocoa, part coffee drinks, one for Remy and one for himself.

The others were already seated at the dining table when they returned with the drinks, and once they were all seated Virgil finally told them everything.

\---

“…Wow,” Patton said when he was done. “That was quite a twist, there.”

“Yeah it was,” Virgil agreed, looking back at Logan. “And he saved my life….I-I can’t ignore that.”

“You shouldn’t ignore that,” Roman said. “It’s okay that you made a mistake, Virgil. We all do that sometimes. The important thing is that you learned.” He smiled at Virgil, but he seemed almost sad. “We understand that you’re trying to protect us; that it just means you care. And we’re proud of you, even if you gave us quite a scare when you disappeared…We know you wouldn’t have done that for no reason.” Patton nodded in agreement.

“I was terrified for you,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been more scared in my life…” he sighed. “But…I couldn’t be any prouder of my son for what he did.”

“He’s a hero!” Emile shouted, jumping up and down in his chair. “My brother’s a hero! My brother’s a hero!” Patton chuckled.

“You’re right, Emile.” He nodded, and so did Roman. Even Remy grinned his agreement.

“Your brother is a hero.”

___

Logan was warm. And he wasn’t sure how, because the last thing he remembered was the crackle of his own electricity…someone screaming in his ear…

_Where am I?_

He struggled to open his eyes, and when he did he found a pair of sunglasses looking back at him.

“Gah!” He jerked away and fell off whatever he’d been lying on—a couch, he realized—landing on the floor with a dull _thump._ Why was he on a couch?

“Virgey, he’s awake!” Sang the one with the sunglasses. Logan groaned as he heard pounding footsteps approaching, and the first boy was shoved aside as Virgil dropped to Logan’s side.

“Hey Vir—” he started to say, but his words were cut off as Virgil wrapped his arms around him, pulling him up into a hug.

“You’re okay,” he said quietly. Logan froze, stunned, then found himself hugging Virgil back.

“Yeah…I’m alright…what happened?” he asked, as Virgil pulled back and helped him up onto the couch once more.

“Dad! Dad! Emile! He’s awake!” Virgil shouted, then turned back to Logan.

“The house collapsed on you…you…you remember what happened, right?”

“Parts of it.” Logan winced and put a hand to his head. “Must’ve been knocked out.”

“Yeah. Remy says you have a concussion, but you should be fine.”

“Just sleep, babe,” said the one in sunglasses. He went into the kitchen, coming back with a glass of water as three more characters entered the room—one covered in flour, one in glitter, and one short with glasses and a pink shirt.

“That’s Patton,” Virgil explained, motioning to the one that looked like he’d been baking. “And that’s Roman.” The one with glittery hair waved, sending a small shower of sparkles down onto the carpet. The little one ran over before Virgil could introduce him, hugging Logan with his little arms.

“Thanks for saving my brother!” he cried. “I missed him! You’re a hero too!”

Logan blinked at the boy in surprise.

“Ah, that’s Emile,” Virgil said quickly. “He’s my little brother.”

“Oh, is he?” Logan asked, and he found himself smiling. “So you’re the one who’s been taking care of my friend for me all these years?”

“Ha, very funny,” Virgil said, and Emile grinned. Behind him, Patton had reappeared (wait…when did he leave?) with a plate of something that smelled delicious.

“Cookies?” he asked, setting the plate down in front of Logan along with a glass of milk. _Chocolate chip._ “I hear you’re the kid who saved my son’s life…Logan, is it?”

“Uh yeah, that’s my name.” Logan sat up, awkwardly running a hand though his hair. “I um…he was a cat. And uh…he…I-I mean…”

“Don’t worry, Virgil already told us what happened.” Roman held up a hand with a small smile. “We appreciate what you did nonetheless. Thank you.”

“Try a cookie!” Emile said. He grabbed one off the plate and gave it to Logan, who awkwardly thanked him before taking a bite. His eyes widened.

“These are good!”

“Yeah, my dad makes some of the best cookies around.” Virgil seated himself next to Logan and took another cookie, finishing it off in just a few seconds and grabbing another one. Logan ate his slowly, enjoying the delicious homemade taste, noting that it was still warm from the oven.

“Hey…Virgil?” he said after a moment.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks. For saving me, I mean, and not dumping me at the hospital. It ah…well, it means a lot.” Virgil shrugged, but his cheeks blushed red as he answered.

“Yeah, no problem. Thanks for…thanks for saving me too.” The two looked at each other, and Remy rolled his eyes.

“Alright boys, cut the mush, save the kissing for later,” he said. Virgil hissed at him, grabbing a pillow off the couch and hurling as hard as he could in Remy’s direction. The other boy yelped and dodged, letting the pillow hit Roman instead, sending another shower of glitter onto the carpet as he stumbled back from the hit.

“I’ve been shot!” Roman cried dramatically, dropping to his knees. Patton laughed as Remy hid behind him, while Virgil grabbed a second pillow and leaped to his feet and Logan also reached for one.

“Be careful with your—Oomph! Concussion!” Remy shouted as Patton jumped out of the way and he was pelted with two more pillows, before he fell to the floor in a heap of laughter. Emile giggled and ran over to him, grabbing his arm and trying to pull him up.

“C’mon!” he yelled. “We gotta win!”

“Alright, but you can only hit Virgil, okay? No throwing pillows at Logan.” Emile gasped.

“It’s his superpower!” he decided. Logan laughed and grabbed another pillow.

“Sure, that works for me.”

“Roman, you’re on our team!” Virgil shouted.

The group assembled themselves into their respective teams, with Patton taking Remy and Emile’s side, and began pelting each other with pillows. Glitter exploded over the room when Roman got hit a second time, and they all laughed and giggled and shouted until Virgil noticed the sky was getting dark, and more, the look of apprehension on Logan’s face. Patton seemed to notice it too, as he quickly dropped his goofy grin and came over, kneeling by where Logan was still sitting on the couch. The others had been good about not hitting him, so that couldn’t have been the issue. The others stopped their game, pillows in hand, when they realized two of their members were no longer playing.

“Are you okay, Logan?” Patton asked gently.

“I…I should, um…I should probably go,” Logan said quietly. He looked down at the floor.

“Logan.” Patton smiled sadly. “We…Virgil told us that you live alone now, but…if you want to…perhaps, would you like to stay with us instead? We would love to have you, if that’s what you want.”

Logan couldn’t believe his ears. _Him,_ being offered a place in Virgil’s family, Virgil’s family who Virgil had been protecting from _him? Logan_ the menace, _Logan_ the monster?

He automatically looked over at Virgil, who gave him an encouraging nod.

“We’d love to have you join us, kid,” Roman added from where he and Emile were sitting together on the floor, Emile perched on Roman’s lap.

_This is too good to be true. It can’t be real. I must be dreaming._

But then Logan found himself nodding anyways, a smile crossing his face when he saw how tensely Virgil had been watching him, waiting for a reply. And he realized why Virgil called this place _home,_ because he already wanted to, wanted to be a part of this happiness and acceptance and love and…

“Yes,” he said, and nodded again. Virgil smiled, bigger than Logan had ever seen him smile before.

“Welcome to the family, nerd.”

___

Three seats taken at the bakery.

Three coffees on the counter, one in front of each seat.

“Oooh, this is the good stuff,” Remy said, kissing his coffee cup and setting it down in front of him.

“I dunno. I like the caramel.” Logan swapped his drink back with Virgil, who shrugged.

“Chocolate’s the best, you’re just missing out.”

“Or we know better.” Remy smirked.

“Ha!” Virgil rolled his eyes, glancing up as Patton came back into the main room, setting a little plate full of treats in front of the boys.

“Are these…jam cookies?” Logan asked with wide eyes, taking one and looking at it.

“Yup! And guess what kind of jam I used?” Logan took a bite, and Virgil laughed at his amazed expression.

“It’s Crofter’s!” he yelped. “Oh my…thank you Patton! I love Crofter’s!” Patton chuckled as he grabbed three more cookies, stuffing them into his mouth and chewing appreciatively.

“You’re welcome, kiddo.” He went back into the kitchen just as the bell rang.

“Where are my children?” called a dramatic voice. Logan grinned as Roman came over, hugging all three of the boys and stealing a cookie from the plate. “Ah, here you all are. And how are my boys today?”

“Really goodf!” Logan said through a mouthful of cookie. Virgil watched him, his cheeks blushing a delicate shade of red. Remy winked at him, and he stuck his tongue out at him in response.

The two had been dating now for just over a month, and Virgil couldn’t believe just how quickly he’d fallen for that sarcastic, stubborn nerd. Logan expressed similar surprise at their relationship, often stating that Virgil had kidnapped him, but those claims were hard to take seriously when Virgil’s favorite hoodie so often disappeared, only to show up around Logan’s shoulders some time later.

Smart and smartass, Remy had said with a laugh. He was right.

One thing was for certain, though: they’d found Logan’s weakness.

_Crofters._

“Cookie?” Logan offered Virgil one and he found himself laughing, though he tried to hide it under his sleeve as he accepted the offering.

“Thanks, Logan.” He said once he could manage speech again.

“Hey, where’s my attention?” Remy pouted. He quickly found himself being hugged by a little Emile, who smiled sweetly up at him.

“Here!” he said, handing Remy a piece of chocolate. Remy grinned and took it, then stuck his tongue out at Virgil.

“Ha! I have a new best friend!” he said, pulling Emile up onto his lap. “You can keep Logan now. How are you doing today, bud?”

They talked and laughed, and Logan smiled, and for the first time in his life he realized that he was really, finally, truly…

_Home._


End file.
